Our Programs — ECD Quality and Accountability Effort
In 2006, KIDS COUNT received a generous grant from the Benedum Foundation to document the state's existing early child development (ECD) policies and determine the best ways to improve the quality and accountability of West Virginia's ECD system. KIDS COUNT, in partnership with the Partners Implementing an Early Care and Education System (PIECES), West Virginia: A Vision Shared and Columbia University’s renowned early child development policy expert Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan, led a year-long Policy Matters process to determine the state of West Virginia’s early child development system. For each of the 100+ recommended policies in eight different categories, members of the West Virginia Policy Matters team assessed the state’s current policy level, gave it a numerical ranking and established desired policy enhancements.
The findings of this policy review helped bring clarity to areas in which improvement is urgently needed. The lowest policy rankings were in the areas of:
- Facilities and Capital
- Adequate Compensation
- Program Accountability
- Child Care Tax Provisions
- Early Child Development Planning
- Qualified Health Professionals
Because of these early child development policy deficiencies, KIDS COUNT, in partnership with PIECES and West Virginia: A Vision Shared, supported legislation in 2007 that would have created the policy framework for a high-quality early child development system in West Virginia. The bill did not pass in 2007, but policymaker interest in improving early child development programs has never been higher. For example, the Governor and First Lady are working closely with PIECES to develop an early child development policy agenda for 2009, including a study of and recommendations for a multi-tiered childcare quality rating and improvement system and the governing and financing structures necessary to support it. KIDS COUNT is actively participating in that policy process.